#ARCTIC. #SIBERIA. THIS IS TAIMYR. There was a time when more than 900 thousand individuals of wild reindeer lived in Taimyr. After the 1990s, the number decreased to 600-700 thousand. According to the latest checks, there are no more than 100-120 thousand heads of reindeer on the peninsula. Why do reindeer leave Taimyr and what to do about it?
Among the main reasons for the decrease in the population of the main animal in the north are poaching, predators, other migration routes, the nature development by humans, and global climate change. This was told to us by the head of the Taimyr Reserves scientific department, a scientist with forty years of experience Leonid Kolpashchikov.
“I bear personal responsibility for this animal, as I wrote a doctoral dissertation on it. In all previous seasons, as far as I can remember, it was the largest northern detachment. Unfortunately, a monitoring system, organization of hunting are a little lame today which also has its impact”, the expert believes.
According to Leonid, a hunting ban will save the reindeer number: in just a few years, the population will recover.
“Air registration is planned for 2024, which means we will draw new conclusions necessary for science and monitoring the situation”, says the scientist.
The Krasnoyarsk region’s authorities are aware of the problem and are solving it: they recently discussed a set of measures to save the reindeer population. At the same time, the Hunting supervision monitors the wild reindeer migration in Taimyr: for example, during one of the latest raids, hunting inspectors found 230 carcasses of illegally killed animals.
Leonid Kolpashchikov refers to other specially protected species the musk ox, as well as the polar bear and bighorn sheep listed in the Red Book. And a number of bird species: gyrfalcon, goose, tundra swan, red-throated goose and other birds.
“As for the bighorn sheep, thanks to the Nornickel help this year, in the summer, we will be able to go to this animals’ registration. First, it will be airplane flights, then ground studies”, notes Leonid Kolpashchikov.
Recall that a Moscow university is creating a database of the Arctic Red Book animals. An electronic Arctic Red Book is expected to appear in 2023 – it will eliminate the need to use nine regional editions.
Earlier, badgers reached the Arctic, scientists found an unknown species of crustaceans in the mountain lakes of the Putorana plateau, and partridges successfully settled down in the Norilsk city center.
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Text: Marina Horoshevskaya, Photo: Siberian Federal University
